People moves: UK’s NEST confirms Ian Cornelius as CEO

NEST Corporation – Ian Cornelius has been confirmed as chief executive officer of the pension scheme. NEST currently invests around £50bn on behalf of its more than 13 million members, making it one of the UK’s largest pension schemes.

Cornelius has been interim CEO of Nest since May 2024, during which time he has overseen the development and implementation of the pension fund’s 2030 corporate strategy and new purpose: building financial peace of mind for all.

Before joining NEST, Cornelius had served as interim group CEO at Skipton Building Society – a mutual owned by its members – having previously been Skipton’s commercial and strategy director for a decade.

LGPS Central – Nigel Peaple has been appointed as director of policy.

Peaple brings more than 25 years of experience in public policy and government relations across the public and private sectors in the field of pensions and investments. He most recently served as chief policy counsel, and prior to that director of policy and advocacy, at the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA). Whilst there, he led the association’s work on pension investment issues and UK growth.

Peaple is well known for his ability to foster productive dialogue between industry, government and public bodies.

In this newly created role, Peaple will lead LGPS Central’s work on public policy and external engagement. His remit includes building relationships with key stakeholders, including HM Treasury and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and helping shape LGPS Central’s contribution to the future of the LGPS at a time of substantial change.

The immediate focus will be supporting the company’s evolution as it responds to the government’s Fit for the Future reforms.

EFAMA – Samantha Ricciardi, CEO of Santander Asset Management, was elected as EFAMA’s president for a two-year term, running until June 2027.

Ricciardi has been Santander AM’s CEO since 2022. She has more than 25 years of international experience in various leadership roles within the asset management industry, including companies such as BlackRock, Schroders and Citi.

Micaela Forelli, CEO Europe at M&G Investments, was also elected as EFAMA’s vice president. She has been the CEO since 2023, having previously headed global financial institutions and European distribution for M&G Investments since 2010. She has around 20 years of leadership experience at M&G Investments, as well as spending three years as sales director at Fidelity International.

Ricciardi takes over from Sandro Pierri, CEO of BNP Paribas Asset Management, while Forelli takes over from Massimo Greco, vice chair asset management EMEA at JP Morgan Asset Management. Pirri and Greco have formed the EFAMA presidency since 2023.

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) – The UK’s Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has announced the appointment of Kirstin Baker as the new interim chair of The Pensions Regulator (TPR), effective 1 August 2025.

Baker will succeed Sarah Smart, who has been on the UK’s workplace pensions regulator’s board since 2016, first as senior independent director and latterly as chair of the board.

Baker is currently the senior independent member of the TPR board. She was appointed a panel inquiry chair and panel member non-executive director of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) board on 1 September 2018 and is also a member of the audit and risk committee. She stepped down from the board in March 2024 but remains a panel inquiry chair. 

Baker had a long career in the civil service and was most recently HM Treasury’s finance and commercial director. Earlier in her career, she was part of the senior team leading the Treasury’s response to the banking crisis and was awarded a CBE for this work. Her new appointment starts 1 August 2025 for a period of up to 9 months.

The Pensions Ombudsman – Deborah Evans has been named as the new chair of the UK’s Pensions Ombudsman.

Evans currently serves as a non-executive director and chair of the compliance committee at the Property Ombudsman. She will take over from Anthony Arter, who has been interim chair since January 2024. She will take up the post on 1 July.

Evans’s appointment comes as the UK government’s Pension Schemes Bill continues its passage through Parliament. Measures include strengthening the legal standing of the Pensions Ombudsman so that pension overpayment cases can be resolved and pension overpayments refunded quicker, reducing waiting times for customers.

ZEDRA – The firm has announced the appointment of Dean Blackburn as CEO.

Having joined the business as deputy CEO in September 2024, Blackburn “has a proven track record in inspiring and motivating teams – fostering a culture of collaboration and innovation, which has consistently translated into strong business performance and growth”, ZEDRA stated.

Blackburn brings more than 25 years of executive leadership experience across the financial and professional services sectors, having previously served as chief commercial officer and group head of institutional client services at JTC.

Northern Trust Asset Management (NTAM) – Pedro Guazo has been hired as the firm’s head of international and responsible investing.

Guazo, who will join in August, will have a dual mandate of leading the asset manager’s business in Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific, as well as its $189bn global responsible investing platform. He will be based in London and part of NTAM’s global leadership team, reporting to president Daniel Gamba.

Guazo will be appointed CEO of Northern Trust Global Investments Limited, subject to regulatory approvals.

Guazo most recently was CEO of the $100bn United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund’s Office of Investment Management. During his five-year tenure, he transformed the fund, growing assets by nearly 60% with an extensive buildout of a private markets program and diversifying the portfolio across several new asset classes. The fund is recognised as a leader in responsible investing by the Responsible Asset Allocator Initiative and a founding signatory to the Principles for Responsible Investment.

Guazo served on the investor advisory group for the International Sustainability Standards Board.

With 30 years of experience as an investor and business leader across large-scale global financial institutions in Europe and North America, Guazo brings deep expertise in investment management, responsible investing, corporate governance, talent development and risk management.

Investment Association (IA) – Patrick Thomson has announced his intention to step down as chair of IA during its annual conference today.

“This is my last conference as chair of the IA board, where I pass the baton to my soon-to-be appointed successor,” he said.

Thomson was appointed as chair of the board in September 2022, replacing Keith Skeoch.

He used his keynote speech at the conference to reflect on his time at the association, highlighting the UK’s current “disjointed policy environment”. His replacement will soon be announced.

MRH Trowe & Lurse – The insurance broker and consultancy has reshuffled management following the acquisition of actuarial consulting specialist Heubeck.

Heubeck’s CEO, Susanna Adelhardt, will take over responsibilities for actuarial matters as part of the management team, while Carsten Ganz will lead the insured pension and benefits division.

Tina Heubeck will be responsible for the integration of MRH Trowe & Lurse and Heubeck, and Frank Zagermann will lead the administration division together with Rainald Meyer. Meyer will also assume responsibilities in the consulting division as part of the management team, focusing on the German market.

Maximilian Evers will lead the HR consulting and benchmarking division, while Matthias Edelmann will join the supervisory board of MRH Trowe to drive the strategic development of MRH Trowe & Lurse.

Norman Dreger was named spokesman for the management team, effective 1 July. In his new role, he assumes overall responsibility for MRH Trowe & Lurse.

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